Sonic the Hedgehog: Divide and Conquer
by CertainDestiny
Summary: Meeting new people always brings about new adventures, Sonic always thought. This time is no exception. New foes and new friends are encountered, and they bring along with them a new problem that will require collaboration. Let the games begin. Contains mild language and OC.
1. Newcomers

**Author Notes**

Yet another story even I have others to attend to. Somebody stop me... Anyway, welcome to _Sonic the Hedgehog: Divide and Conquer. _This is a story I have been waiting to write about for a long time, so I'm glad to finally get around to it. Thanks go to my beta reader PaulAsaran of DeviantArt.

******Disclaimer: **Sonic the Hedgehog is copyrighted to Yuji Naka, Sonic Team, and Sega. The only thing(s) I claim ownership to are my OC/fancharacters to appear in this story.

**Chapter 1: Newcomers**

Between two towering grey mountains, the blades of grass in a spring green valley danced in the breeze. It was a peaceful and resplendent environment with various small animals roaming around. The budding shrubs located here and there provided shelter for birds in their nests, bees in their colonies, and moles in their holes. The cloudless sky allowed the beautiful sun to cast a veil of luminosity onto the valley, and the mountains provided a sort of silver sheen to accentuate it even more. Undoubtedly, the current appearance of the valley would be ideal for resting.

And a certain cobalt-blue hedgehog thought exactly that. Sonic the Hedgehog was laying on his back in the grass, soaking in the sun with a content smile on his muzzle. _"__Life doesn't get any better than this,"_ Sonic thought serenely, his arms behind his head to act as makeshift pillows, _"Feels great to relax from off-the-wall adventures like an intergalactic amusement park and a being of darkness trying to take over everything."_

Just then, Sonic felt the sun being blocked, signaled by the sudden disappearance of the heat. "Huh?" Sonic opened his right eye halfway to see a giant, floating battleship hovering in the sky. "Tch. Must be Eggman again," Sonic groaned in disdain before jumping to his feet, "Man, oh, man. You would think that after all this time he would retire or something. Then again, Eggman wouldn't be Eggman without his persistence. Oh well. I'll kick his round butt quickly so I can go back to catching some Z's."

The battleship generally had an arrow-shaped design with two sets of draconic wings stretching out from each side. The underside, which was the only thing visible from Sonic's position, was pitch-black. The blue hedgehog dashed toward the southward mountain, where the ship was nearest, and the wind that he brewed brought many blades of grass with him. He quickly accelerated, his legs moving with such velocity that they began to visibly blur into something resembling a rotating blade, his red shoes forming a bright circle. As he started running up the face of the mountain, his swiftness became so great that he surpassed such speeds as the mortal eye could conceive! To the casual bystander, only a rocketing azure blur could be seen, zipping up the mountain like a comet, a trail of dust and grass floating in his extensive wake. As he darted into the jagged bare region near the mountain's peak he began to swerve and dodge amongst jagged rocks and ledges, a delicate and precise game of maneuvering which he had mastered long ago. His azure trail zigged and zagged up the mountain's face, every obstacle circumvented, every sharp danger skirted, all while maintaining a speed to make other mortals stagger in wonder.

As he came closer to the peak of the mountain, Sonic realized he would need an extra boost to make sure he could actually board the giant battleship. He spotted a great place near the peak perfect for what he needed to do. He stopped himself suddenly by rooting his feet into the ground as he made his body stiffen to prevent the intense momentum from causing him to slide, his body twanging as a consequence for a brief two seconds. He then planted his foot onto one of the slightly larger rocks before him. Immediately after, he curled up into a ball, something his species was known for. Sonic, in his ball form, maintained this stationary position and began charging up speed like the wheels of a racecar on park right before the race began. After about five minutes of charging, Sonic finally performed his Spin Dash and blasted off. With increased force and resistance to friction, Sonic was able to roll right through the jagged stones. In the wake of his dashing, dark grey dust and gravel permeated the air. And, finally, he had enough speed to jettison off the peak of the mountain, launch himself in the direction of the battleship, and land perfectly on the deck.

"…OK…This is starting to seem un-Eggman-like," Sonic commented, warily gazing at the construction of the battleship.

The deck and everything beyond did have a semblance of the Egg Carrier or perhaps any of Sonic's old nemesis' contraptions, but the atmosphere and color was of something more sinister. The deck sentinels were silver, resembling the large turrets the government used to safeguard high-maintenance areas , and the way they were arranged made it seem like a miniature version of an area of city buildings. Shadows lined the areas between these sentinels, and their stationary cannons gleamed in the sunlight. Apparently, Sonic was on the one-way street that cut through them, and, to an unaccustomed person, one false move would make these cannons point at said person and unleash tons of hot plasma blasts.

In the distance where the bridge was, a tower that stood out from all the rest. Four sections of the tower possessed the battlements of a castle, giving it a sort of medieval air. Lastly, a symbol could be seen at the very apex of the bridge: a greatsword and a nodaichi crossed to form an X.

"Definitely un-Eggman-like," Sonic placed his knuckles on his hips, "Baldy McNosehair must be stepping up his game."

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the vast ship's bridge, the cold light of a computer console reflected off two glasses of wine in the relatively dark room.

"Five minutes until arrival at destination," the computer announced. Then, the image of a stony, Greco-Roman temple appeared on the computer screen. From what the faraway depiction of the screen gave, the structure was ancient indeed—the color was splotched in a variety of places, the stone manufacturing was glaring in comparison to the modern mechanical structures seen today, and there was a heavy emphasis on columns and pillars. Setting down one of the glasses, a person stepped out of the shadows and entered the light of the computer.

He was obviously masculine based on his unemotional scowl and phlegmatic eyes, the sclera of which were a deep red, almost like blood, along with white irises. His hair was dark slate grey and styled to be layered but short. Overall, his appearance gave a dangerous hint about his personality, yet his apparel demonstrated a sense of regality and sophistication. He wore what could be described as that of a modern-day, regal tyrant: a dark crimson cape with split ends toward the base of it, an ebony shirt with an upturned collar and cuffs somewhat wider than the sleeves, and velvet black pants fastened by a dark gold belt.

His scowl curled into an evil smile at the sight of the temple, "We have arrived, Negative. Our plan starts here and now."

His partner stepped from the shadows and stood beside him. The individual was shorter but more muscular than Ryu. His facial features consisted of smooth dark slate grey hair and blood red eyes with black sclera. His eyes also bore a distinct black rim within the irises. White dots were also located in each of his pupils. His skin was paler than Ryu's, and he bore large bat-like wings. In spite of these strange characteristics, he was still obviously human, or at least humanoid. He wore a grey pants with a prominent black belt, black combat boots, and ragged black blazer.

"It's about time, Ryu," Negative remarked.

Just then, the screen turned as the word 'warning' flash on it. "THREAT DETECTED! THREAT DETECTED! THREAT DETECTED!" Ryu and Negative gasped in shock with the former roaring questioningly, "What threat?!"

The screen shifted again, this time to the outside cameras, which showed a blue blur slicing through the turrets and sentinels located on the deck. They were instantly destroyed in a fiery series of explosions that violently filled the screen.

"That speed…" Negative mumbled pensively, "Could it be _him_?"

Ryu narrowed his eyes, "It appears not. I can recognize the difference. Regardless, anyone that acts like him is subject to destruction in my book."

* * *

Outside, unaware that he was being watched, Sonic let out a thrilled holler. "YAHOO!" He outran the plethora of laser cannons aimed at him, their flurries of laser fire continually missed their mark and trailing right behind him. Sonic deprived excitement from knowing that these supposedly destructive machines could not even hit a little hedgehog like himself. "Whoever here's in charge is just as fun to mess with as Eggman!" The blue hedgehog ran in front of a section of turrets and jumped up so that laser cannon shots would destroy them inadvertently. "WHOO!" He hollered once again as the explosion sent him high into the air. Of course that only magnified his ecstasy.

"Wasn't that a blast?" Sonic said mockingly to no one in particular as he landed on the ground and skidded to a stop.

Just then, a slot opened on the deck and was followed by a series of heavy, mechanical thuds. Sonic whirled to the direction of the sounds as the metallic stomping became louder and louder. Throughout his many battles, the blue hedgehog could recognize the sound of a machine that was deadlier than lower class ones. And, right now, whatever this construction was, it would either be more fun to play with than the sentinels or be more destructive and serious.

Several black appendages spewed out from the opening, a hollow clang being the resultant sound, as the creature leapt completely out of the slot. When it landed, Sonic was able to see a mechanical spider. It was fairly large, but not like the sentinels Sonic just trumped. Its legs were like blades, and in place of the usual eight eyes there was the symbol seen on the tower. Oddly enough, Sonic noted, despite the arachnid being a machine, it had an organic appearance. Another thing that bothered him was that odd, purple energy surged through its legs. It was not like most energy he encountered throughout his many journeys.

Nonetheless, a fight was a fight, and he was going to oblige. "Oh look, a bug that needs squashing!" Sonic smirked as he got in a battle stance, putting up his fists in the style of a boxer.

"Greetings, blue hedgehog," a voice greeted eerily from atop of the robotic entity. Then, Ryu jumped off the spider with eyes leering malignantly at Sonic.

"Well, hi there!" he replied casually, "You seem new to town. Name's Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"I am Ryu Amakuni…and I'm afraid you're making quite the mess of my Imperial Skyline battleship."

"That's because it looked evil. I'm a hero, and I stop evil," Sonic said while stretching, "They go hand-in-hand. Get what I'm saying?"

Suddenly, Negative appear behind Sonic, wielding a massive silver and black greatsword. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were mocking us." He swung at the hedgehog, an electric purple trail marking the arc of his swing. To his surprise, the large blade fazed through the hedgehog who disappeared in a blue gust.

"What the-?! An afterimage?!" Negative exclaimed.

"Nice try on the sneak attack," Sonic commented, standing on top of a pile of metallic rubble, "though next time, don't speak; that gives me a clue you're coming for me. Trust me, I'm fast enough to dodge as you can tell."

Negative glared at the hedgehog as he stabbed his massive sword into the surface he stood upon, making dents and cracks as the tip pierced through the metallic material. It was then Sonic got a good look at Negative's weapon of choice. Its size was interesting to behold—it was just as big as Negative himself with considerable width to it as well. On the front side, extending from its decorative hilt guard, was a long, clear capsule that resembled a meter. _"__Dang. If I had actually gotten hit by that thing, I'd have a heck of a hospital bill."_

"So be it," Ryu snarled in a low, menacing tone. He was carrying a unique, golden sheathe whose end possessed thick dark red wrapping, and he unsheathed a nodaichi with a dark gold hilt – the tsuba curled to resemble an Egyptian eye – and a fine black blade.

"Nega Arachne, have at that hedgehog!" Negative commanded. The Nega Arachne hissed before crawling towards Sonic, who jumped out of the way of the mechanical menace's slashes. Ryu and Negative rushed for Sonic after he landed and swung their swords simultaneously. "Whoa!" Sonic jumped over the swings, and the swords clashed, "You two sure know how to triple team a guy."

Ryu and Negative shifted themselves so that they could both kick Sonic away while he was still in the air. "GUH!" Sonic groaned as he went flying before landing on the ground. Then, the Nega Arachne jumped up and tried to slam itself on the blue hedgehog. "Whoa!" Sonic exclaimed as he dashed away to avoid being crushed to death.

After landing, a number of gun barrels appeared on the Nega Arachne's two front legs and unleashed rivulets of that same purple energy at Sonic, who again dodged. Sonic jumped, curled into a ball again, and performed a Spin Dash once more. He rammed himself into the "face" of the Nega Arachne, its frozen and awkward position symbolizing its stunned state. He landed on the ground, only to jump up and perform Spin Dash again to try and deal a heavy blow while it was stunned; however, Negative put himself in the way.

"Don't think so, hedgehog," Negative said. Light purple, glowing liquid appeared inside the meter on his sword and stopped on the first line vaguely visible on it like the mercury inside a thermometer. His greatsword flashed purple as small crackles of electricity appeared on it. Unleashing a guttural roar, Negative swung the flat side of his weapon towards Sonic.

Upon impact, Sonic was immediately knocked out of his Spin Dash state "AH!" He exclaimed in pain as he was sent flying into some of the mechanical rubble on the battlefield. Negative laughed vindictively, "You underestimate my powers, hedgehog. This isn't your average sword you are dealing with!"

Sonic glared at Negative as he got himself out of the rubble, "Thanks for the update, Captain Obvious," he replied sarcastically. He loathed the fact that, while in his Spin Dash state, he was left vulnerable.

"Why you miserable little ant!" the bat-winged swordsman snarled as he stretched his black wings and flew for the hedgehog. Apparently, Negative did not learn from his failed sneak attack, for when he swung, he swung at another blue afterimage.

"One - I'm not that slow, buddy. Two - I'm a hedgehog, not an ant." After that declaration, Sonic kicked Negative in the back of the head and sent him flying into a sentinel, giving him a taste of his own medicine.

Ryu, meanwhile, had been spectating Negative and Sonic's tussle from a distance in order to try to gauge Sonic's capabilities. For a being who was simply centered on speed, he was quite strong.

He stabbed his nodaichi into the mechanical surface and covered his body with his cape. Muttering something underneath his breath, he reopened his cape and unleashed a ray of cloudy, inky darkness from the air before him towards Sonic. The blue hedgehog saw it coming and quickly sidestepped to the left to avoid the dark magic attack. Inadvertently, Dark Hall struck the sentinel that Negative was previously knocked into, and he screamed in pain during the resultant explosion.

"Ouch, that hurt," Sonic said mockingly, placing his knuckles on his hips. He turned to Ryu and jested, "Nice aim you got there, buddy." Ryu sneered; that was just an unfortunate case of misfire.

He swung his nodaichi again. The longer-than-usual blade suddenly released a quick air wave that caused a minor explosion where Sonic was. "OUCH!" Sonic yelled as he skidded across the mechanical surface. He gritted his teeth and forced himself on his feet, "Playing dirty now, huh? Fine then!" Sonic then heard the sounds of discharges and quickly Spin Dashed away to avoid more laser shots from the Nega Arachne.

"Ugh. Wish I had a can of bug spray," Sonic groaned in disdain after reverting to his normal form. Ryu was now attacking from the air, diving for the hedgehog with his sword ready. Naturally, because Sonic was faster, he evaded the strike as Ryu's swing, amazingly, reduced a malfunctioning sentinel into segments.

_"__Whoa! This guy means a lot more business than his buddy."_ Sonic thought, noting the difference in strength between Ryu and Negative. Twinkles of black light appeared around Ryu. When he swung his sword, these twinkles were fired at Sonic who promptly evaded all of them. Each impact created a violent explosion of smoke and thermal energy.

"Is dodging all you can do, hedgehog?" Ryu asked. His voice was so calm that it was hard to distinguish if he was taunting or asking an honest question.

Sonic smirked as he tapped the surface with the toe of his shoe in trademark style, "Not at all, Ryu! I'm about to show you; just don't blink—"

"RAH!" Sonic was suddenly slammed to the ground by an extremely powerful force, a force strong enough that it knocked the wind out of him. "Well, hedgehog, I took your advice," Negative said condescendingly. Obviously, he survived the explosion, but the damages done to his body were just as obvious. His body and clothing were charred in a good number of places, and he was suffering a couple of bleeding wounds.

"It is like you said, Sonic the Hedgehog," Ryu stated, gesturing to the Nega Arachne, "We certainly know how to triple team someone." The Nega Archane summoned its weapons again and charged up energy in them.

Sonic released a violent cough as he regained normal breathing, "No thank you for the compliment?" he retorted.

"Here is your thanks," Ryu responded with an evil smirk, "A one-way ticket to oblivion…"

"Man, ya'll havin' a party and didn't invite _me_?!"

Out of nowhere, a black blur flashed across the area, and the Nega Arachne seemed to spontaneously explode. This definitely caught Ryu and Negative off-guard, allowing Sonic to brutally and quickly knock away the latter.

Negative skidded across the surface from the impact, "What's this-YOU!" Ryu looked up and growled angrily at the sight of his arch-nemesis… and Sonic's savior.

"You know it!" the alacritous man said as he smirked. Just like Negative and Ryu, he was human. He had brown hair, onyx eyes, a black shirt with white ribbings, white gloves, and black baggy pants with a black belt, and white shoes with silver buckles.

"Shelton Shallow…" Negative said in a low, sarcastic voice, "How conveniently timed your arrival is."

Shelton straightened himself with a proud grin, "'Ey, you two should know how I roll." He looked over his shoulder at Sonic and added, "Yo, you did pretty good against these two! Looked like you were havin' a ball!"

Sonic smirked before jumping back to his feet, "You could say that. I'm Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog."

Shelton gestured his head toward Negative and said, "Tall, dark, and ugly over there already said my name: Shelton Shallow."

Ryu turned to Negative and told him, "Conveniently timed is what we wanted, Negative. Let's go; we're falling back for now…"

Negative narrowed his eyes defiantly and snarled in response, "Fall back after what they just did? No way in Hell, Ryu! Let's at least send them packing with a couple of broken bones before we ship off!"

Ryu silenced his partner by suddenly positioning the tip of his nodaichi at the middle of his larynx. "Did you not hear what I just said? This is what we wanted," he stated menacingly. A wide-eyed Negative nodded slightly so that the sword could not pierce his throat.

Sonic could only look at them in disbelief, "Uhh…Aren't they supposed to be buddies?"

Shelton was equally confused, "They are…This is the first time I've seen this." It was also apparent they did not hear Negative and Ryu's short conversation.

Ryu removed his sword as he pressed something on the collar of his shirt. Instantly, a warp-hole materialized in front of the Imperial Skyline.

"Uhp! Time to bounce, Sonic!" Shelton announced.

"Right behind you!" Sonic replied.

The two dashed off at the same time side-by-side with trails of obsidian and azure in their wake. As the two heroes jumped off the battleship in the nick of time, they could hear Ryu's vengeful threat, "Mark my words, Sonic the Hedgehog…crossing me is the equivalent of a death wish!"


	2. Impendence

******Disclaimer: **Sonic the Hedgehog is copyrighted to Yuji Naka, Sonic Team, and Sega. The only thing(s) I claim ownership to are my OC/fancharacters to appear in this story.

**Chapter 2: Impendence **

Sonic and Shelton skidded across the lush ground until they made a complete stop. "Well! That was fun while it lasted," Sonic commented, clapping his hands of any dirt.

"Sho' was! I always did like kickin' their butts! Besides, their reactions are kinda amusing." Shelton said, brushing grass and dirt off of his pants.

Sonic snickered, "I can see." He then went onto a new, more serious subject. "But, that aside, what was up with them?"

Shelton shoved his hands into his pockets and stated, "Well…it's kinda complicated. Think ya got time?"

Sonic gave the taller male a thumbs'-up, "Always do."

Shelton smirked, "Then follow me." The brown-haired hero got into a track-runner stance and then zipped off as a black blur. Unperturbed, Sonic followed him while leaving behind an azure trail. The two speedsters raced across the valley, sharp winds following in their wake. Their surroundings passed by them at full-speed, and they relished in the winds blowing into their faces. Running at high speeds were like rollercoaster rides for Shelton and Sonic: fast, exhilarating, and—best of all—they could always do it again.

"You see, from what I heard, Ryu and Negative are lookin' for these temples," Shelton explained over the wind once they both were settled into their running.

Sonic's brow creased, thinking about what other purposes a temple could be used for by villains. "Are they trying to unleash some deadly monster into the world? Or reawakening some ancient power to harness for their own? Oooor a variation thereof?"

"You sound like ya got experience," Shelton pointed out.

"Eh. A bit," Sonic said nonchalantly, now looking at Shelton as a means of getting him to go on.

Shelton only shook his head, "Can't really say much else cuz I don't have an answer myself. All I know is, we need to get to them temples 'fore they do."

On cue, something on the horizon appeared. "What's that?" Sonic pointed out in question, squinting his eyes to try and get a better visual.

"One of 'em," Shelton answered.

"It is?" Sonic questioned, "How'd you know there was one here?"

Shelton replied, "Why do ya think my entrance was so convenient? I was chasin' 'em down cuz I knew there were headin' to another temple," The taller male faced forward and said, "I'll explain later. Right now, we got business to take care of."

True to Shelton's word, it was the stony, Greco-Roman temple that Ryu and Negative had their sights on. Like typical Greco-Roman temples, pillars were a structural emphasis. Grey-white columns circumnavigated the cylindrical building and kept up the roof that was shaped like a triangular prism. Only the front side where the entrance was lacked any pillars. The cementation that created the walls behind the columns was slightly darker in hue. The entrance was a rusted brown, iron door. Ivies clung to its sides, and ancient depictions of Greco-Roman gods were melded onto the door itself.

Sonic whistled at the sight of the marvel. "Check it out," he remarked in an impressed tone.

"I know, right?" Shelton agreed, "Those ancient people got it goin' on."

The two speedsters stopped completely when they reached the large entrance of the temple. The white, dirtied stairs were positioned invitingly in front of Sonic and Shelton, beckoning the two to climb them and enter this mystical building. They ascended the steps and approached the door. Automatically, the giant stone doors creaked open, and flurries of dust were unleashed into the world and into the faces of the two heroes. Shelton and Sonic coughed as they waved away the dust from their faces.

"Man! Dusty old thing!" Sonic said in-between coughs.

"No kiddin'!" Shelton agreed.

The two entered the ancient establishment. The coloration of the inside matched the outside: earthen and caked with dust. "How big is this place?" Sonic questioned, sauntering forward.

"Dunno. But based on what I saw in the other temple 'fore I sealed it away, ya got quite a bit of runnin' to do." Shelton answered, matching the blue hedgehog's strides.

"Sealed it away?" Sonic repeated, casting a curious look over to the brunette, "How the heck can you seal a big thing like this?"

"Oh, that's right," Shelton said, apparently remembering a vital piece of information, "To be honest, I'm still searchin' the answer for myself. There are a lot of things about these temples Ryu and Negative know more than me. But there IS one thing I know…I ain't lettin' these guys seal these things 'fore me!"

Sonic chuckled good-naturedly, "Sing it, brother. I guess you can't answer how or why does that goes with Ryu's plan?"

Shelton shook his head, "Naw. But, it's gotta be important. I guess they thought you were in they way and were tryin' to make sure you stayed outta their way."

"Yeah, I can see that." Sonic said in agreement. A few seconds and something came across his mind. Something that made him point accusingly at Shelton, "Wait a minute! Does that mean you werewatching them kick my blue booty?!"

Shelton rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "For like a minute. Had to make an entrance, y'know?"

"…jeez, you've got a big ego."

For a while, silence—other than their echoing footsteps—befell the hedgehog and the superhuman. The trail they walked on seemed to repeat, the same structures reappearing systematically as they covered more ground. As such, when Sonic noticed the slightest structural change, he asked, "Hey, Shel? I wanna know if these temples are like something you would see in movies or on television."

Shelton couldn't help but chuckle at Sonic's little quip, but nonetheless answered, "Depends. What kind of movies?"

"Like the kind of movies that, if you touch something, booby traps will activate," Sonic answered.

Shelton stated honestly, "You don't have to touch anything to make 'em happen."

Suddenly, from the shadows, arrows were flung at the duo.

"They just happen!" Shelton reassured as he twisted his body slightly in preparation. Shelton then spun rapidly and vertically to create a miniature black tornado that sucked in the arrows and blew them away.

Sonic smirked as he, too, sprung into action, "Good to know!" The obstacle Sonic was faced with were rows of sharp pendulums that were suddenly launched from the hidden alcoves in the walls. Thanks to his great acrobatic skills, he was able to avoid them swiftly and effectively. "That makes me wonder," he spoke after getting through the first batch of traps, "is there a sort of temple guardian to match all this?"

"Who knows? The sky's the limit," Shelton answered. Instead of jumping over the blades like Sonic, Shelton was sliding and barrel-rolling underneath them. When the pendulums were no longer an impediment, or lack thereof, the temple decided to assault them with wrecking balls. Sonic turned to the side and ran up the wall to avoid them with Shelton following suit.

"How did you plan on conquering these things?" Sonic asked from his position on the wall.

Shelton gazed at the rows of the sharp, bladed pendulums pensively. They were moving relatively fast, and their numbers covered a good amount of ground. But then, his onyx eyes locked onto the chains that held the blades. A smirked plastered on his face as he said, "Follow my lead."

Shelton flipped himself so that he was in a handstand whilst straightening his body. He started to rotate himself, progressively gaining speed, until he reached the point where his whole body was like that of a drill. A few more seconds of charging, and a blazing red aura coated Shelton as a result of producing thermal energy from rapid acceleration in one spot. Shelton then projected himself, going at speeds like that of bullet. He drilled through the chains of some of the wrecking balls with ease, the slicing sounds echoing through the hall while sparks flared like fireworks.

Shelton had made sure he had enough force in his technique to be certain he could reach the opposite wall. He planted himself on the wall whilst exiting his drill state and smiled at his work.

"Whoa! That's quite a technique!" Sonic commented.

Shelton looked at him and said, "Drill Spear ain't never failed me yet. Jealous, dawg?" He added a smirk to the final part of his line.

Sonic matched his smirk as he jumped off the side of the wall, "Not at all! Watch this!" Sonic then curled into a ball and span at high speeds before projecting himself to the remaining chains. The force from his attack made the chains break, and the wrecking balls themselves fell down.

Sonic landed and cockily proclaimed, "The Homing Attack has yet to fail me."

Shelton briskly waved his hand at him while sniggering, "Showoff." Before the temple could react with a new wave of traps, Sonic and Shelton dashed off.

Eventually, the two made it to the very core of the temple. Compared to the rest of it, the core was vastly different. The room itself was elliptical. A bright green mass of energy was encapsulated by a statue-like object with lines of ancient manuscripts etched on them. Similar writings were present on the walls around them. The dark green and grey floor possessed a system of rings that made it look like an intricate dial.

"Looks like we made it," Sonic pointed out, looking around the temple core room.

"Alright. Let's seal this thing and bounce," Shelton advised.

However, the temple had one last obstacle for the two. The writings on the wall glowed, causing Shelton and Sonic to stop and put up their guards. Green lightning struck and convened in front of the core until something began to form.

"One last order of business to take care of, it seems," Sonic said seriously.

"Word…" Shelton agreed as he assumed his battle stance. An entity materialized from the energy, revealing it to be a golem-like monster with assortments of green, white, and black colors. Its main weapon was a bludgeon-claymore combination—one end of the weapon the former and the other the latter.

"Mm! A big guy with a big weapon," Shelton remarked.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" Sonic exclaimed as he dashed expeditiously for the Temple Guardian. The golem swung the claymore side of its weapon, but Sonic dodged it by sliding underneath it. The Temple Guardian turned to face Sonic only to be smacked in the face by a Homing Attack.

"This fool ain't fallin', Sonic!" Shelton pointed out tauntingly as he ran up to the Temple Guardian.

"Think you can do better?" Sonic challenged from his position.

"Don't blink," Shelton responded. He then started spinning vertically in place. His rotations increased in pace steadily to the point he resembled a black top, the white portions of his outfit creating white streaks in the form. The Temple Guardian swung its bludgeon at Shelton, but, interestingly enough, he allowed himself to be hit. Shelton, in his whirling form, bounced right off the wall and smacked into the face of the Temple Guardian.

Although Shelton's attack seemed to have worked better, the Temple Guardian only staggered backward. It remained on its feet. "Aw man, that's BS!" Shelton complained as he skidded across the ground, stopping conveniently beside Sonic.

"I didn't blink, but I didn't see results either." Sonic stated, one fist on his hip.

"Aw, hush up." The brunette retorted.

Sonic then asked curiously, "I just wanna know. What do you call the move you just used?"

Shelton answered him, "It's called Whirl Dash."

The conversation was cut short because it was the Temple Guardian's turn to retaliate. It slammed the bludgeon onto the ground and released a greenish shockwave to both speedsters. "Here it comes!" Sonic cautioned, dodging to one side.

"Whoa!" Shelton exclaimed, jumping in the opposite direction. The Temple Guardian flipped its weapon so that the claymore side was in the air, and the spokes on it emitted green electricity that homed in on Shelton and Sonic.

"I don't remember Temple Guardians putting up this much of a fight in the movies!" Sonic yelled as he outran the lightning bolts coming his way.

"Then that means they lied to us!" Shelton shouted irefully as he performed intricate flips and sidesteps to avoid being shocked.

The Temple Guardian stopped its current action, gathered energy in the claymore, and swung in order to release a wave of energy. Sonic and Shelton jumped at the same time managed to avoid the attack. Unexpectedly, however, the Temple Guardian flipped his weapon and swung in order to release a wave of green powerful energy.

"UGH!" Both speedsters were blasted into the wall with such great force that the small craters formed when they hit it. The Temple Guardian aimed the claymore part of its weapon at the two and released a surge of green bolts. Sonic and Shelton's heads jerked up, releasing cries of pain, as the electricity shocked them. Eventually, the Temple Guardian stopped its assault and both heroes fell to the ground.

"O-Ow…" Shelton groaned, shakily lifting himself up slightly, "That hurt…like hell…"

"I guess, Shel…" Sonic said as he painstakingly pushed himself to his feet, "We'll have to get serious…"

"No choice, huh?" Shelton said as he too managed to get on his feet, ignoring the residual pain in his body.

Suddenly, Shelton and Sonic dashed forth so fast that they broke the sound barrier, resulting in them becoming red and white projectiles as volatile black and blue winds surrounded them, respectively. The Temple Guardian literally did not know what hit him; one second it was standing up, the next its legs were taken from underneath it and was on its face.

"Hm. That should knock it down a peg or two." Sonic said after stopping his Sonic Boost and skidding across the ground, wiping sweat off his brow.

"Looks like none of us are playin'." Shelton as he too came to a stop.

The two ran toward the staggered Temple Guardian as they jumped up to perform Homing Attack and Drill Spear, assuming their corresponding spin and drill states. However, the giant creature sensed danger as it sluggishly rose to one knee. It swiftly turned around as it swung its weapon, knocking both Shelton and Sonic into the wall while they were in the middle of attacking.

Both males slid down the wall and landed on the floor with a strident grunt. That particular strike dazed them somewhat, reflecting how quickly this fight was escalating. They immediately snapped out of it when they heard thunderous footsteps, signifying the incoming approach of their opponent, and shot to their feet. The Temple Guardian swung his bludgeon, this time releasing blasts of energy toward Sonic and Shelton who quickly dodged them. Sonic reacted faster and took this chance to try and nail the golem in the face with another Homing Attack; however, it swung its weapon quick enough to knock the blue hedgehog out of the way and to the ground.

"You're getting on my nerves!" Shelton yelled as he dashed for the Temple Guardian, who was waiting for him. When the superhuman got into its weapon's radius, it swung the bludgeon for Shelton, but he quickly jumped up. This allowed Shelton to grab a hold of the handle when it came around. With a grunt of effort, Shelton swung himself to the face of the Temple Guardian. He then delivered a series of powerful kicks, ending it with an axe kick that made the Temple Guardian stagger backwards.

"One more!" Sonic exclaimed, speeding past Shelton as a supersonic ball and ramming himself into the torso of the dazed golem. Once again, the mighty Temple Guardian fell down, this time on its back. "

Hey! Check it out, I got him to fall!" Sonic declared proudly, skidding back to a stop.

"Only cuz I kicked the crap outta him." Shelton objected, pointing at the blue hedgehog.

"Excuses, excuses," Sonic said nonchalantly, crossing his arms with a grin.

A slight rumble in the area signaled the Temple Guardian was back on its feet. "As much as I wanna continue debating, Shelton, we still got business to take care of!" Sonic proclaimed as he dashed for the Temple Guardian.

"Fine then! Let's finish this fool off!" Shelton asserted as he dashed forth as well.

Sonic and Shelton ran side-by-side as they approached the Temple Guardian. The golem swung its claymore down at them, but they separated to evade the attack. Shelton rotated vertically and performed the Whirl Dash at the handle of the dual-purpose weapon. He struck the Temple Guardian's burly hand and disarmed it. Sonic used his Spin Dash but struck the Temple Guardian on its right temple and then in the back of its head using a Homing Attack.

"You're finished!" Sonic and Shelton both declared as they repositioned themselves in the air. The Temple Guardian was hunched over on one knee; it had no clue what was about to happen. Sonic raised his arms and violently threw himself into a high-speed spinning state as Shelton again rotated vertically to put himself into a whirling state. Violent, buzzing sounds were made as they charged up speed in air. They were moving so fast that gravitational force acted irregularly—Sonic and Shelton were not descending to the floor in their states! In the midst of their charging, the light particles in the room became attracted to them as if they were magnets.

This phenomenon occurred for eight more seconds until they finally stopped. "Ready?" Sonic asked with a cocky grin, an azure aura of light about him.

"GO!" Shelton shouted with an ebony aura of light around him. The two performed a Light Speed Attack, assailing the monster so quick that only two glowing trails marked their paths, and struck through the Temple Guardian in a cross formation. The Temple Guardian was bifurcated and dissolved in specks of greenish energy.

"Too easy." Sonic said, striking a victory pose.

"Ain't nothin' we can't handle!" Shelton added in, breakdancing a little before he, too, struck a victory pose.


	3. Under Their Noses

******Disclaimer: **Sonic the Hedgehog is copyrighted to Yuji Naka, Sonic Team, and Sega. The only thing(s) I claim ownership to are my OC/fancharacters to appear in this story.

**Chapter 3: Under their Noses**

"Alright, so how do we go about sealing this thing?" Sonic inquired, leaning against the base of the temple's core.

"Simple. I'll handle that." Shelton said, reaching behind him and, to Sonic's surprise, removing the silver Chaos Emerald from his person.

"Whoa! You got a Chaos Emerald!" Sonic exclaimed, eyeing the mythical gem.

"That's what it's called? I found da thing lyin' around somewhere. It wasn't near anymore important," Shelton explained, "I just decided to pick it up; it helped in sealin' the other temple."

"How do you seal it, and how did you figure out?" Sonic asked curiously as he eyed around the Core Room. Based on his various interactions with Shelton since escaping Ryu and Negative, the blue hedgehog could conjecture Shelton was not a person who could look at something as complex as this core and know what to do right off the bat.

"Trial 'n' error, my man!" Shelton announced proudly, holding a thumbs-up with a large grin on his face. Sonic only shrugged his shoulders. He guessed that was all a normal person like himself or Shelton could do in a place like this without prior knowledge. He imagined Shelton running around in circles, climbing up walls, and removing various slabs out of the way in comical attempts at figuring out what to do. The fifteen-year-old hedgehog laughed quietly at the thought.

"As for your other question…" Shelton outstretched the hand that held the emerald. "Like so."

The silver Chaos Emerald levitated out of Shelton's hand and positioned itself above the core of the Ancient Temple. The mythical gem illuminated brightly, and the core reacted to it. The writings attached to the core magically removed themselves from the statue and swirled around the green core. The power of the Chaos Emerald made the core sink into the ground as the outer dials rotated to certain spots, the writings on them glowing the color of the emerald: silver and white.

Pretty soon, the reaction ceased as the Chaos Emerald floated back to Shelton's hand. "And that's all she wrote," he announced, pocketing the emerald again.

With the temple on the verge of returning back to its resting place in the earth, it had to reward the two proud and brave heroes for their troubles. In the back of the core room, a door of pure light materialized and opened up, pouring the radiance of the outside world in the room. "That must be our ticket out of here," Sonic stated, walking to the opened door.

"Yep. Let's bounce." Shelton followed the blue hedgehog into the magical door.

The door returned the two to the land right in front of the Greco-Roman temple. Once they were safely outside, a tremor shook the area. "Wh-Whoa! The heck's going on?!" Sonic shouted, placing a hand on the ground to add to his balance.

"Watch and be amazed!" Shelton instructed, doing the same action while pointing at the temple. In addition to the earthquake, a volatile tremor added to the upheaval as the temple began its steady descent into the ground. Dust and sediment flared into the air as the earthen area was stretched to accommodate the temple going back to its resting place. The pillars on the temple shook in conjunction with the ground, rattling the temple itself. Soon enough, the whole structure disappeared into the ground as the calamity ceased with nothing left in its wake.

"Whoa. That was pretty cool," Sonic remarked.

"Yeah, it disappears after sealing…I just…dunno what all this means," Shelton muttered contemplatively.

"I know just the little guy who could possibly solve our troubles." Sonic declared.

Shelton looked at the fifteen-year-old hedgehog curiously, "Who?"

Sonic swiped under his noise as he announced proudly, "My good buddy Tails! He's your guy if you wanna know this kind of stuff." His emerald eyes turned and gazed at the blue and white sky, "…Hm. Looks like we have enough time to run over there if we go at high speeds."

"I don't think that'll be necessary," Shelton said.

Sonic looked at the taller male incredulously, "I thought you loved running?"

Shelton rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "It's not that! It's just I don't wanna leave my homies behind. They got business in this stuff, too!"

"Oh!" Sonic exclaimed in understanding, "Why didn't you just say so? Where are they?"

On cue, the sounds of a plane whooshing toward them pierced through the quiet environment. "Here one of 'em comes!" Shelton announced, turning to the source of the sound along with Sonic. They could see a fighter jet plane shaped like a pterodactyl. Its colorations consisted of light slate grey and dark red.

"Hey, Shelly! Ya took care 'a' business?" A voice rang over somewhere on Shelton's person. He pulled back some of the brown hair over his ear to reveal a communicator and replied, "You know it, Inv! You right on schedule, too! My boy and I need a ride!"

"Lemme park this thing, then!" The plane eventually came to a stop right above the two speedsters and slowly made its descent toward them.

All the while, Sonic marveled the design of the plane. "Whoa. And I thought Tails' plane was big," he commented.

The front capsule where the cockpit was opened up and, to Sonic's surprise, a robot came out, supposedly being this Inv person Shelton had mentioned. Inv's mechanical body was predominantly of dark red and light slate grey colors. His feet were angled tracks covered by dark red armor in the shape of right triangles. His black, metal legs were quite skinny, covered by dark red leg armor with pointy knee caps outlined in white. A silver rim acted as Inv's waist, and more dark red armor pantomimed the pelvis, which the legs were connected to.

Inv's torso was considerably bulkier than his arms and legs and chiseled to resemble the human torso, but there was a small hump in the back. It resembled the front of a typical tractor unit truck—the "headlights" positioned where pectoral muscles would have been, and the insulator unit placed right where his abs would have been. His abs were a dim grey, and the headlights were glassy and outlined by a dim grey metal. Black, blocky shoulder blades protected the ball sockets that connected his arms to the torso. His arms were designed similarly to his legs: skinny with dark red, bell-sleeve-like armor. Inv's left hand was a large metallic gauntlet while his right hand was a curved, scissor-like claw connected to a single hinge. Inv's head was box-shaped, his set of jaws light slate grey while the rest of his head was dark red. His eyes, resembling oval-framed lenses, were colored purple-raspberry.

"Hey, Inv, meet Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog," Shelton introduced the fifteen-year-old speedster to the robotic character.

"Hey! Yer that blue hedgehog that keeps on savin' th' world. I know you!" Inv exclaimed, making a smirk plaster onto Sonic's face.

"Well, I don't mean to brag but, yeah, that's me!" A thing Sonic noticed about Inv quickly was that he sounded nothing like robots he had met before. He talked like a human! Plus, he moved like a human too. Whoever created Inv had to be highly advanced.

"Ha. So ya'll need a ride, don'tcha? Hop on, then!" Inv said.

"Yo, Sonic, you might wanna give Inv directions to yo boy," Shelton recommended as he jumped onto one of the wings of the plane and then into one of the passenger seats.

"Hey, Inv!" Sonic yelled to the robotic character as he did the same thing, "Your destination is a placed called Tails' Workshop. It's located in the Mystic Ruins some miles outside Central City. I'll direct you if you have problems!"

As Inv started up the pterodactyl-shaped plane again for flight, he replied to Sonic, "If ya say so! Just sit tight an' I'll get ya there in a jiffy! My Z-Ptera ain't failed me yet!"

"Hopefully you can get this jalopy there fast!" Sonic shouted, preparing for flight as the Z-Ptera hovered in the air.

"JALOPY?!" Inv exclaimed.

"Oh, God," Shelton groaned under his breath.

"You better hold on to ya britches, hedgehog! This vehicle comes only in two functions: fast and 'WHOO! Th' hell was that!?'"

And judging by the sudden acceleration, Inv opted for the second function. 

* * *

The Imperial Skyline finally exited the warp-hole, and its owners weren't all that impressed with the outcome of a previous endeavor.

"Damn that Shelton and that blue hedgehog!" Negative shouted irefully as he slammed his fists onto the large keyboard, "They had to get in the way!" Ryu, meanwhile, only sat in his chair nonchalantly, letting his companion vent out his frustrations.

Suddenly, the alarms went off in the room, putting a stop to their actions—or in Ryu's case, a lack thereof. "What now?" Negative growled as he typed on the keyboard and something appeared on the view screen: a salvo of missiles heading their way. "WHAT THE—?" The Imperial Skyline shook tumultuously as some of the missiles impacted against it.

"Who is responsible?" Ryu questioned, maintain his universal calm.

"I'm trying to figure that out!" Negative yelled in response, "I need to put the battleship into assault mode for counterattacks!"

As Negative did that, Ryu went to the other, smaller keyboard and punched in some commands. On its screen, it displayed a cloudy, crimson sky above a large hellishly red establishment. From it, the sky-patrol sentries were unleashing waves of missiles and laser fire unto the Imperial Skyline. But the thing that gave this place away the most was the sign located at the "entrance": Eggmanland. Ryu balked, "Th-This is…"

"CEASE YOUR FIRE! STOP NOW! STOP, YOU PIECES OF JUNK!"

The outraged voice echoed through the sky and ground as the Eggmanland sentinels suddenly stopped attacking. "Damn it, just when I was about to fight back!" Negative growled as he slammed his fist onto the keyboard again.

Ryu walked over to the human-bat hybrid and questioned, "Negative, have you no idea where we are?"

Negative looked at him and replied, "No. Why?"

"Incoming message," the computer voice announced to the two.

"Open it," Ryu demanded.

Upon the voice command, the computer automatically opened the message and played it. On-screen, a portly man dressed in red and black appeared on the screen, "Ho ho ho! Well, long time no see, Ryu and Negative!"

"Doctor Robotnik?!" Negative shouted in shock. His long-time acquaintance was the one responsible for nearly devastating his battleship? How ironic.

"Likewise. How long has it been since we last seen each other?" Ryu asked in a friendly manner, adding an uncharacteristic smile.

"Negative, nobody calls me that anymore…" Eggman said lamentably and then bluntly addressed Ryu, "And, I lost count of the months since our last meeting."

Ryu's smile quickly turned into a frown as he stated sternly, "Then what do they call you nowadays, Robotnik? Forgive us for our ignorance."

"I am now known as Doctor Eggman, the illustrious and super genius and soon-to-be emperor of Eggmanland!" The evil doctor megalomaniacally declared.

Negative was instantly put into a fit of uncontrolled laughter, "What the hell, Robotnik? What kind of stupidity is a name like 'Eggman?!'"

"Quit you're laughing, you rat with wings!" Eggman shouted outrageously, "What is so funny about that?!"

"It sounds retarded!" Negative responded through his laughter, brutal and honest, eliciting a vicious growl from Eggman.

"Negative, enough." Ryu suddenly spoke, stern and menacing as ever, and Negative died down in his hysterics. The swordsman casted a prolonged, intent look to the evil genius on-screen and drawled, "Let us in. We'll talk about things when we're face-to-face."

"Why, certainly! Just park your battleship at the hangar a mile northwest of the entrance, and I'll meet you there!" Eggman directed, and the transmission was broken.

"Negative. Do it," Ryu ordered.

"Don't rush me," Negative retorted, shooting a glare at him. 

* * *

The Imperial Skyline descended to a halt within the confines of Eggmanland. Underneath it, Ryu and Negative dropped from the teleportation beam and landed on the hard steel floor of a bunker within the fortress.

Within the bunker were a vast multitude of robots and machines, ranging from roboticized animals to soldiers that resembled their creator himself. They were all working to prep the area for the arrival of Ryu and Negative…even though they already did.

"I see Robotnik has quite the array of machinery," Negative said, eyeing at the various automatons.

Just then, a red ball rolled up to them before revealing itself to be small, round-headed robot with slit light blue eyes and mouth. "Ah. I wasn't aware that Eggman was acquainted with people such as yourselves."

"…" Negative and Ryu stared unblinkingly at the eccentric contraption.

"My name is SA-55, or Cubot, as I prefer to be called. I am one of Eggman's Badniks, as he calls them," Cubot said as he clasped his hands together. While he sounded like a prim and proper gentlemen, his way of speaking was excessively lax and, in their eyes, disrespectful.

"Why you miserable little ants!" An irate voice suddenly shouted. The majority of the Badniks frantically jumped in fear, for they knew the area in question was not status quo. Too bad they could not increase their progress because Doctor Julian Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik entered the bunker with a dissatisfied scowl on his face. "Oh great, they're here, and this place is atrocious! I am severely disappointed in you hunks of metal!" The Badniks cowered in fear because their master would potentially revert them to scrap metal in the chop shop located elsewhere in the fortress.

"But, Eggman," Cubot said, turning around to his approaching creator, "You expected us to clean a place big enough to accommodate a battleship in less than five minutes. They are not that efficient. Not to mention, if these two were your friends, I'm sure they wouldn't care."

"Did I ask you?!" Eggman bellowed. Negative snickered mercilessly, finding it humorous that the creation was giving constructive criticism to the creator. Ryu, however, saw the other side of the spectrum—one that pleased him when he saw how much his old friend has regressed.

"Well, I—" Cubot spoke but was silenced when he was violently kicked into a wall, "Ow." The red and black robot groaned monotonously as he slowly slid into a trashcan.

Ryu dropped his leg to the ground and faced the many shocked Badniks in the room. "All right. It seems your creator is displeased at the progress. I am telling you know to increase your pace twentyfold or else you will face punishment by my blade." To emphasize his demands, he unsheathed his nodaichi. The sharp, glistening blade contrasted comparatively well with the dark atmosphere of the bunker. The Badniks only stared thoughtlessly, wordlessly, and motionlessly, for Eggman never imposed such authority on them previously, so they were unaccustomed to someone else doing just that.

"…Hmph. Allow me to give a demonstration of my wrath." Ryu said, swinging his nodaichi. It release two air waves of energy that ripped through several Egg Pawns and Egg Fighters, causing explosions that rocked the area and struck fear into the processing units of Eggman's robots. "Get to work unless you want to share the same fate as your misfortunate brethren," Ryu stated, still in his universally calm voice as he sheathed his sword. This time, the Badniks—fueled by fear—zipped off in different directions to do their given tasks.

"Ivo, that," Ryu said as he turned to the portly scientist, "is how you command subservient creatures; with an iron fist and every intention to carry out threats."

Eggman only stared at the swordsman, with bewilderment, indifference, or amazement was anyone's guess, because he donned an expressionless face.

"Now, because I respect you, Robotnik, I will never refer to you as 'Eggman' because it is such a ridiculous name," Ryu stated sternly, "How it came about is beyond me."

"You can blame Sonic and his furry friends. I suppose the name just stuck since no one called me by my old name anymore," Eggman explained.

"Then think of this as a fresh new start, Ivo," Ryu offered, "It seems Sonic no longer fears you. Well, we shall use that laxness to bring about an untimely wave of destruction that will happen so quickly and unexpectedly it will give the rat a heart attack."

Now that Eggman thought about it, Sonic and his friends seemed to think lesser and lesser of his so-called, all-powerful plans and, ultimately, himself. The failures were so constant that they were almost routine, like Sonic going on jogs around Central City. Well, enough was enough.

"I must commend you," Eggman finally spoke, "You're exactly as I remember you,"

"And I will admit your engineering skills have improved, Robotnik," Negative took the opportunity to say something since Ryu and Robotnik had been doing all the talking.

Eggman smirked boastfully, "But of course! I am Doctor Egg-uh, I mean, Doctor Julian Ivo Robotnik, the world's greatest scientist! I have a reputation to maintain if I want this glorious Eggmanland—gah! Robotnik Empire—to expand to all corners of the Earth."

"It's a start," Ryu admitted unpleasantly.

"Come on, Robotnik, we have much to discuss," Negative brought forth, "Let us go to your quarters."

Eggman led everyone back to his station, the main control room of Eggmanland, or rather, the Robotnik Empire. It was located in the heart of the entire area, situated at the topmost section of the highest tower. The room was relatively wide with nothing but white coloring the entire place. It was bright, but the whiteness of the quarter helped with such. The sole window in front of them stretched from wall-to-wall and was tinted blue because it doubled as a transparent computer screen.

Negative decided to situate himself in one of the white seats while Ryu approached the interactive screen. "Robotnik. Are you familiar with the legend of Rhlor?" Ryu inquired the scientist as he typed onto the keyboard.

"I have to say I am not. This is the first time I've heard about…Rhlor?" Eggman replied, sitting in his seat as well. He didn't quite catch the name Ryu just mentioned.

"You pronounced it wrong," Negative pointed out, sinking into his seat, "It's pronounced ri-lawr."

"Anyway, Rhlor is a legendary, ancient, godlike entity that was worshipped by some clans about twenty millennium ago," Ryu explained, the screen displaying ancient depictions and tables on the subject of the apparent god.

"But the thing that gave Rhlor his fame is the fact that he was nicknamed the God of Wishes," Negative added in, crossing his arms. "A simple prayer to him fulfills the heart's innermost desires."

"Sounds like my kind of god," Eggman remarked in an interested tone.

"However, you will notice the problem when you think about it," Ryu spoke again, changing the images on the screen to that of what appeared to be ancient illustrations of a calamitous battle with the symbol for Rhlor among the turmoil, "Many of the prayers Rhlor received contradicted each other, and the clans worshipping it became avaricious."

"So they killed each other." Eggman stated matter-of-factly.

"You guessed it." Negative confirmed, "However, some sympathized with Rhlor for the abuse it suffered because of the greedy clansmen. These certain people wished for the God of Wishes to be sealed away. So, now, Rhlor is an almost nonexistent word in our current vocabulary."

"So, what's the point?" Eggman demanded impatiently.

"Patience, my friend," Ryu stated as more images appeared, ones of differently-structured temples, "The method in which Rhlor was sealed away is almost like a game in our modern time. These ancient structures, called Sacred Temples, or Ancient Temples depending on context, are the locks that bind Rhlor to its sealed state. At first, however, only three Sacred Temples are set to stay in the known world, and they appear in a period of every 1,000 years until this is stopped. In addition, the remaining Sacred Temples only crop up when conflicting factions are involved in this rather interesting game. One 'team,' if you will, is the sealers, whose objective is to return the temples back into the ground. The objective of the opposing 'team,' the activators, is, obviously, activation of the Sacred Temples' inner power to release Rhlor."

"So far, we've only activated one Sacred Temple," Negative said, "But we purposefully refrained from sealing any more, even though I hate losing period, or the idea of losing itself, to allow a certain someone to get the chance to seal some first."

"Let me guess who that is," Eggman interrupted, "Is it that blowhard Shelton Shallow?" Negative nodded sourly, causing the doctor to sneer in disgust.

"But Shelton isn't aware that he has worked in accordance to our plan," Ryu said optimistically, "When he first became privy to our actions, we assumed a sort of ploy to make sure we would get to the point we are now."

"Even though I hate letting that cockroach best me," Negative grumbled irefully, "And Sonic only makes it worse!"

Eggman slammed a clenched fist onto the armrest of his chair, "Uch! I should've known that blasted pincushion would get involved…"

"Rhlor is an all-knowing God of Wishes; he knows what alignment a sealer of a temple is affiliated with. With Shelton and Sonic sealing two of the three Sacred Temples, and Negative and me activating the one Temple needed to start it off, the ancient game involving these temples is underway. The remaining Sacred Temples have risen in other parts of the land. Now, it is up to us three to activate more Sacred Temples than Shelton and his gang will seal in order to win."

"Knowing him, Sonic's lapdogs will be informed about this in no time…" Eggman muttered speculatively.

"Too bad the information Shelton has isn't enough," Ryu said, calming the nerves of the human doctor somewhat.

"This game works in accordance to the wills of the greedy clansmen that battled for exclusivity to Rhlor and the sympathetic people that wanted Rhlor's safety," Negative explicated, "If we win, Rhlor will be reawakened and we can pray upon him for whatever plots we want fulfilled. He'll grant them provided our three wishes don't inherently contradict each other and create conflict. But, if Shelton, Sonic, and the others win, Rhlor will stay sealed for another 1,000 years. This is our only chance."

"Hold up a minute," Eggman interrupted, "I believe you mentioned that The Sacred Temples are the _l__ocks_? What on Earth are the _keys_ to these locks?"

Ryu smirked as more images popped up, "The Chaos Emeralds. These mystical gems have been around since the days of the Knuckles Clan. Naturally, other ancient societies wanted to have these things involved in their culture somehow. When exposed to the Cores of the Sacred Temples, depending on the desire of the person, the temples themselves will be sealed away or unlocked."

"Ho ho ho! I like that prospect!" Eggman cheered excitedly, "I happen to be in possession of two Chaos Emeralds!"

Negative smirked as he announced, "Excellent. So are we. That will make things easier."

Eggman rose enthusiastically from his seat, "What are we waiting for? I'll go start pinpointing the locations of the Sacred Temples. Let's hurry up and win this game!"

"Hold on, Ivo." Ryu stopped the doctor from leaving.

"What is it?" Eggman asked, turning back to him.

"There is one last thing about the Sacred Temples that is very important," Ryu said seriously, "Will is an important facet concerning these temples, inside and out."

"Will?" Eggman echoed the word confusedly, scratching his bald head.

Negative responded, "This concept of "will" is key to our victory, especially if our little speedsters decided to impede. Let them meander lackadaisically inside a Sacred Temple with their minds thinking what they want. They will soon regret when the Temple decides to enact upon what they are thinking."

"Ha!" Eggman laughed mockingly, "With my and your mechanical know-how, yours and Ryu's swordsmanship, and my and Ryu's strategic ability, we will win this game quicker than Sonic and Shelton can run!"

With that said, Negative and Eggman shared smirks and chuckled sinisterly. Ryu maintained his ever-serious demeanor as one thought crossed his mind.

_Let the games begin._


End file.
